Unions celebrate equal pay decision

Unions greeted the decision to increase pay for social and community sector workers with applause and celebration at an event in Melbourne on Wednesday, and warned it would take a “brave" government to reverse the decision.

A pay rise of 19-41 per cent will be phased in over eight years following a decision of the Full Bench of Fair Work Australia. A further increase in annual leave loadings could lift overall pay rises as high as 45 per cent.

ACTU president Ged Kearney said the win was the result of a just fight.

“The Fair Work Act is working. It is working very well," she said.

Other unions would take heart from the decision and there could be similar cases in the future, she said.

The case for equal pay was prosecuted on the basis that works in the sector are paid less because of their gender, as around three in every four social and community sector workers are female.

Average pay in the sector is $42,000, and the result delivers a pay rise of an average of $15,000.

ASU assistant secretary for Victoria Lisa Darmanin said workers would be able to buy things they were never previously able to afford, like a house.